Q&A with Falcons’ Arthur Blank on DEI, other topics, including the NFL draft

On free agency: “Going into free agency we had a limited amount of (salary) cap space, which we were aware of. I think the football (operations) folks, coaches, etc. They did a good job reassessing how to extend some players to free up some cap dollars. We picked up as many players as we could. Maybe we picked up some good ones.

“A lot of it, you pick up players, and then you forget that a big part of the job is what the coaches do with them. What the system does with them. So, you have players who played someplace else, they come here and suddenly they become even better, maybe, than they’ve been in another system.”

On preparing for the draft: “We’re looking forward to the draft. We don’t have a ton of picks. We have five. (We) can end up (with) more than that, but you just never know. You go into it knowing you have five. The emphasis during the draft will be certainly on the defensive side of the ball. It’s pretty obvious to everybody. I would say.”

On Pro Bowler Grady Jarrett leaving for the Bears in free agency: “Since Grady left, I carry a handkerchief with me. I do this (wiping his eyes) on a regular basis. I mean, it was very painful. I mean, I would say this to you. You end up with emotional attachments to probably almost all the players in one form or fashion. Someone like Grady became a version of another child. We would traditionally give each other a huge hug in the locker room before the games....”

On if the league is still committed to the Rooney Rule. If he’s nervous that the league will be attacked: “I’ll be very careful how I answer that question. There are a lot of things being attacked now, some of which I understand. Some which I don’t, personally. I will say to answer your question, specifically, the Rooney Rule was adopted, I was on the committee. Dan (Rooney) was with us. It was well over 20 years ago, working with (Ravens executive) Ozzie (Newsome) and several other folks. The intent of it has not changed. Football at its best on the field and our coaching staff and our fans, sponsors, certainly immediate partners, is best when we are including everybody. That’s one of the beauties of this game, is that it includes everybody.”

On if the league is looking at things a little bit differently with the current administration in office: “No. The answer to that question is no. It’s a simple answer. We’re committed to exactly the same programs and policies for the sake of inclusion, diversity and equity. All those things for all of the populations that are important to us, which means all of the populations in America today.”

On the hiring new general counsel (Ted Ullyot) who has ties to the President Donald Trump administration. On if anyone sought assurances from him: “I was not a part of the search committee. The firm that did the search is one that we’ve used extensively. I know some of the partners there in their outstanding firm. … I know the folks from the league office who were involved in the search for our leaders in all of these areas. They are super sensitive to the questions that you’re raising. I’m quite certain that was part of the conversation. … he seems to have great credentials.”

On having co-owners who were former athletes like Warrick Dunn and Dominique Dawes: “…You want partners who you have shared values with. Who represent themselves well. Who represent our brands well. Will say the right things for the right reasons and take responsibility for that. Not because we are telling them to say anything because it’s coming out of them and that’s who they are. That’s who you want as a partner.”

Most of the Cousins’ quotes on their hourlong phone conversation were used in this story.

More on Cousins: “If we played Tampa Bay every week, last year, he’d be in the Hall of Fame now. He won offensive player of the week the two weeks we played against Tampa Bay last year. Things happen and he just was not performing consistently at the level that we expected, that he expected and that our fans expected.”

On what does doing ‘what’s best for the franchise’ really mean. On how having a veteran QB not be what’s best for the franchise: “I’ve had that conversation. I see it significantly through that lens. …in this league, of the professional sports, team sports, that I’m connected to, the quarterback position in the professional football league is right in the center of everything. If you have a starting quarterback, God forbids, even with all of the tremendous protections that the league affords with rules, equipment, the way the game gets played, etc. You have players that get hurt. On occasion, it could be the quarterback.

“We have $275 million in salary cap, plus benefits. We owe it to our fanbase and our franchise to make sure that we have a backup quarterback, who can step in and play. Obviously, if we thought that person was better than the starting quarterback, then that person would play. But you want a backup quarterback who you feel like can maybe with some modification in the game plan give you a reasonable chance to win. …the backup quarterback position is very important. I’ve always felt that way since I’ve been in the league.”

On how last season unfolded: “6-3, two-game lead. I got it.”

On how disappointing was the 8-9 record: “It was very disappointing. I speak as the owner. I speak as a fan. I speak for our fans. I speak with our fans. I would say our coaches feel the same way. With that kind of lead in your division, with a two-game lead. Your record and a two-game lead. We beat the team that won our division twice. That’s not the kind of finish you would expect. Raheem certainly understands I was disappointed. Terry certainly understands I was disappointed. It wasn’t a long conversation, but it was a very clear conversation.”

On Terry and Raheem being on different timelines. Fontenot heading into his fifth year and Morris into his second. On if it’s a crucial year for Fontenot: “Every year is a crucial year. In one way the NFL is Not for Long, but I don’t believe in that. I fundamentally do believe that, I want to make this point really clear, the most successful teams in the National Football League, if you go back to the last 10 years, 20 years, 100 years and we’ve studied it, are teams that have sustainability – long-term sustainability between their coaches and general managers and they usually, (have) the right kind of quarterback.

“The owner can come and go, but those three key relationships, sustain relationships because the system doesn’t change. If they want to change it to tweak it for what’s necessary. But the communication pattern, the understanding of each other the way they play the game, the way they make decisions on free agency, draft day, etc. It’s all coordinated.

“So, it becomes a well-choreographed dance, if you will, between them. I think that’s one of the major reasons that certain franchises, they have an identity. The identity is understood by everybody. Inside and outside. I won’t say they become predictable, but there is real value in any organization, whether if it’s a football organization, at the Home Depot or any of our other businesses, PGA Superstores or anything else. That kind of sustained success, you want to have sustained leadership as long as it makes sense to do that.”